Week four

Call me superstitious, but a few weeks ago I found a lucky penny, picked it up and wished for luck. I then moved into my new flat, started seeing progress in my marathon training and landed a new amazing job. This week, I spent my penny on a coffee, fell over and injured myself.

I’m not saying the two are connected, but as I face a week off training, I’m limping around, scouring the floor for another penny to replace my lost one.

In the meantime, here’s my week four marathon diary post.

Cross training is great

This week (pre-injury) I’ve been pretty exhausted. Fitting the runs in has been a struggle, my legs have been stiff and it’s been freezing outside. Retreating back to the safety of the gym, I completed the first of my Bupa marathon plan’s cross training sessions.

I feel like I should explain my ‘family of runners’ comment from last week’s post; of course I’m a runner, I’m doing the marathon and on some days, I love it. But I’d almost always prefer to do a Kayla Itsines HIIT workout from the comfort of the gym. Maybe the marathon will change me, but the addition of cross training has come at the perfect time.

Getting injured sucks

If my blog posts a year ago taught you nothing, it’s that I hate sitting still. After Friday’s injury, I’ve been told to rest up for a week and give my body time to recover. Unlike last year, I’m going to listen to this advice and follow my physio’s words to the book, but it doesn’t make me feel any less restless.

I’m happy to report, despite being too grumpy to write this post yesterday (when I should have been doing my weekly long run, not lying in bed with an ice pack), things are looking better today. After a session with an osteopath this morning, my ribs have been pushed back into place (which is every part as gruesome as it sounds) and I’m on the mend.

Pain is your friend

One thing every medical professional will tell you about pain, is that it’s a good thing. It might not feel like it at the time, but it’s your body’s way of saying stop, I’m hurt. Listen to it.

Fingers crossed, this time next week I’ll be back in my trainers, planning lunchtime routes from my new office. In the meantime, I’ll continue looking for pennies, avoiding ladders and bubble wrapping my mirrors.